Mayors from The Americas, Europe. Asia, Australia and Africa are competing for the annual World Mayor Award. More

City Mayors ranks the world’s largest as well as richest cities and urban areas. It also ranks the cities in individual countries, and provides a list of the capital cities of some 200 sovereign countries. More

City Mayors reports political events, analyses the issues and depicts the main players.More

City Mayors describes and explains the structures and workings of local government in Europe, The Americas, Asia, Australia and Africa. More

City Mayors profiles city leaders from around the world and questions them about their achievements, policies and aims. More
City Mayors deals with economic and investment issues affecting towns and cities. More

City Mayors reports on how business developments impact on cities and examines cooperation between cities and the private sector. More

City Mayors describes and explains financial issues affecting local government. More

City Mayors lists and features urban events, conferences and conventions aimed at urban decision makers and those with an interst in cities worldwide. More

City Mayors reports urban environmental developments and examines the challenges faced by cities worldwide. More

City Mayors reports on and discusses urban development issues in developed and developing countries. More

City Mayors reports on developments in urban society and behaviour and reviews relevant research. More

City Mayors deals with urban transport issues in developed and developing countries and features the world’s greatest metro systems. MoreCity Mayors examines education issues and policies affecting children and adults in urban areas. More

City Mayors investigates health issues affecting urban areas with an emphasis on health in cities in developing countries. More

City Mayors examines the importance of urban tourism to city economies. More

City Mayors examines the contributions history and culture make to urban society and environment. More

City Mayors describes the history, architecture and politics of the greatest city halls in the world. MoreCity Mayors invites readers to write short stories about people in cities around the world. MoreCity Mayors questions those who govern the world’s cities and talks to men and women who contribute to urban society and environment. More

City Mayors profiles national and international organisations representing cities as well as those dealing with urban issues. More

City Mayors reports on major national and international sporting events and their impact on cities. More

City Mayors lists cities and city organisations, profiles individual mayors and provides information on hundreds of urban events. More

5 September 2007: Ahead of the widest open presidential election in living memory set for November 2008, city races across urban America will provide few pointers to its outcome. The 'lame duck' presidency of George W. Bush and the slow-burning decline of his administration through staged departures of key allies, as well as the wooing of voters by his putative successors, will have negligible effect on mayoral races. With only three gubernatorial races penciled in this November and no elections to Congress, mayors will have the stage to themselves. Instead, the usual routine concerns and personality politics will determine the future occupancy of city halls in November's off-year elections.

Under laws reserved for state level, the timing of mayoral races is not unified across the US, though the elections cycle usually kicks in around autumn, generally speaking, with special elections held throughout the year in only a small number of cities. Another unique feature of the US mayoral races is that the outcome is often determined in party primaries staged before the actual vote, while those cities with non-partisan elections can often see frontrunners' fortunes evaporate in run-offs. Similarly, voter disaffection with parties in DC does not ripple down to the local level, though in any case the battle is often between competing Democrats in urban America, rather than a straight two-party fight.

The first scheduled election proper is Phoenix, Arizona, where 56-year old Phil Gordon is seeking and looks certain to obtain a second term as mayor on 11 September 2007, with only one opponent left in the race after Gordon's campaign had the other challenger's candidacy voided through electoral irregularities. Phoenix operates the mayor and council manager system and the opening of the city's new METRO system in 2008 and new university campuses rank as key Gordon achievements other than his signature policies on crime and firearms. September 11 will also see Baltimore's Democratic primary, where incumbent Sheila Dixon hopes to secure a new mandate following her partial term on taking over from Martin O'Malley, who was elected Maryland Governor last November. Former council president and its first woman mayor Dixon is being challenged by councilmember Keiffer J. Mitchell, who has struggled to dent the incumbent's rock solid poll lead or secure any endorsements of note. The race for city council president is particularly close however, with Dixon ally and successor Stephanie Rawlings Blake tied with Michael Sarbanes.

In Philadelphia current mayor John Street is prevented from running again by term limits. Council member Michael Nutter is seeking to replace his council sparring partner Street in the Democrat stronghold, with challengers in the form of Republican Al Taubenberger, Socialist John Staggs and an independent write-in "punk rock" candidate, cartoonist Larry West, who despite being below the city's age of public office (25) at 22 years of age is seeking election. With Nutter all but assured victory following his victory in the Democratic primary, West's legal challenge to the city's charter's age restriction will be the only tangible other outcome in the race.

One of the more interesting races this November is Charlotte, North Carolina, where six term incumbent Republican mayor Pat McCrory is seeking a record seventh term. McCrory's Democratic challenger will also be decided in a September 11 primary. Though electing Republican mayors since 1987, Charlotte is nominally a Democratic city (amid a heavily Republican state), with McCrory forced to tread a more centrist path as mayor. That said, McCrory has both worked with Democratic opponents on the council and voted down more of their ordinances than any other mayor (while the city has the council manager system, the mayor has considerable powers over the council itself).

Finally, San Francisco's 6 November mayoral race, where Democrat Gavin Newsom is seeking a second term, is doubly notable for being the first to use instant run-off voting (IRV), thus eliminating the need for a run-off poll. In spite of recent indiscretions such as his well-publicised affair with an aide's wife and treatment for alcoholism, Newsom looks well-placed to receive a second term. If anything, the scandals appear to have humanised Newsom and endeared him to voters in the strongly liberal city. Newsom's principal challenger Tony Hall withdrew from the race citing a lack of opposition to the incumbent by voters, leaving an array of candidates including a naked yoga practitioner and a sex club owner, as well as well-known local anarchist entertainer 'Chicken' John Rinaldi.

On other pagesUS presidential candidates are not paying enough attention to urban issuesAlmost a year before the first US primary ballots are cast in January 2008, the campaign for president got rolling in earnest this spring. There was news of Rudy Giuliani's wife's undisclosed first marriage, Illinois Senator Barack Obama nipping at New York Senator Hillary Clinton's heels in the fundraising race and John Edwards' $400 haircut. All but ignored amid the sound and fury over Edwards' locks and Obama's bucks was a report from the Center for American Progress that outlined "a national strategy to cut poverty in half." Though it garnered few headlines, the poverty report by the Washington-based think tank forms part of a burgeoning effort to put lower-income people and urban areas closer to the campaign spotlight.

Back in January, the US Conference of Mayors sent all the presidential contenders its 10-point "Strong Cities, Strong Families, for a Strong America" plan, which sketched out an urban agenda covering crime, housing and healthcare. And in New York City, the Community Service Society joined Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ to host a series of forums with presidential candidates called Working Cities. Clinton and Edwards have already appeared, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is expected in June, and Obama could visit later in the summer.

"We want to make sure that we get the candidates on record on the issue of poverty, especially as it regards the working poor and the urban poor. Those of us who are relating to working poor and the labor movement are going to have to demand the candidates to take a position early on," said Community Service Society President and CEO David Jones, who expects additional candidates, including some Republicans, to accept the invitation as well. More